Thursday, June 11, 2009

Bluejacket

A recent post on the Comics Should Be Good blog featured Tony Moore raving about the work of artist Chris Samnee, and included the full four-page story he illustrated for Boom Studios' Pulp Tales last year. I (foolishly, it seems) passed up the chance to pick up a copy of Pulp Tales when it came out, and now I see what I was missing.

B. Clay Moore talked a bit about Bluejacket on his blog last year, and shared a summary of the characters and concepts that he'd written for a CBR feature that ran shortly thereafter.

Bluejacket is a guy who used his fists and the help of some specialized experts (his "Men of Adventure") to battle crime back in the thirties. At some point, he ran into something that turned him blue and seemed to have extended his life well beyond normal (a story yet to be told). His longevity led to the establishment of a Bluejacket"brand," and an operation that was once designed simply to support his fight against evil has blossomed over the decades into a huge corporation, which provides support, but also exists to turn a profit on the Bluejacket name. Bluejacket merchandise (toys, cereal, clothes), Bluejacket-related media (books, comics, movies, cartoons), Bluejacket theme parks...all of these are overseen by Bluejacket, Inc., and their current CEO, former Bluejacket kid sidekick Rusty Haynes. (The first Bluejacket series will examine what happens when business intrudes on adventure)

In recent years, Bluejacket has found himself spending more time on the business end than he'd originally intended, and he's working to get back out in the field with his Men of Adventure. Over the course of seven decades, a lot guys have worn the "Men of Adventure" tag, but his current crew is perhaps the sharpest ever, and includes the very first female Man of Adventure, in Dr. Nicole Shaw.

And from that CBR feature comes a bit about future plans for the character:

“Bluejacket” is debuting in a short story in BOOM! Studios’ “Pulp Tales” anthology, but Moore said that further plans for the series have not yet been finalized. “BOOM! isn't publishing the series, but it was Mark Waid's suggestion that we debut the character in the ‘Pulp Tales’ anthology, since it seemed to fit the theme, and would serve as a great intro to the character,” he said. “As for when the ‘Bluejacket’ book might debut, we're not completely sure at this point. Best guess is early 2009.”

Here are the first two pages of the "Bluejacket" four-pager that ran in Pulp Tales.

Wow. Okay see this is what happens when my internet goes down and I don't have consistent access, though I think I heard a little bit about this way back, the memory gets a bit fuzzy in my old age.... It looks great mind you and a wonderful concept. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Greg